DANVILLE — The Vermilion County Relay For Life for Cancer will take to the track again this year at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Team members will keep at least one person on the track at Ellsworth Park until closing ceremonies at 6 a.m. Sunday. Registration at the park, which is just off U.S. 150/Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, on the west side of Danville, opens at 4:15 p.m.

Relay For Life brings people together to raise money and awareness, said Barbara Wright, publicity chairman and a cancer survivor. A number of family-focused activities are planned for throughout the night.

In addition to the opening ceremony and survivor and caregiver lap beginning at 6 p.m., Luminaria and Fight Back ceremonies are set for 9 p.m. and will feature bagpipers.

A luminary can be purchased for $10 each up until the 9 p.m. People can dedicate their luminaries in honor of a cancer survivor or in memory of someone lost to the disease. The lighted bags will encircle the track.

Other activities include a "Mr. Relay" competition for a penny a vote. New last year, this event brings some comic relief to the event.

Cindy Parson and her family and friends got involved with the Relay event several years ago after the loss of a cousin, Paul Calvin.

"The first year, we thought, we were just there pay $100, walk around the track and have a good time," Parson said. "We raised $2,000 that year, I think. The next year we sent crazy cousin to the organizational meeting who came back and said she pledged like $8,000. We were stunned, but we did it."

Made up of family and friends, Parson's group, Team Paparazzi, has raised $10,000 each year (including this year) for four consecutive years now.

"We do two spaghetti dinners, the dunk tank and a bingo-like event at the Vermilion Fall Festival and we sell our famous pumpkin rolls all year," Parson said. "We already have our $10,000 in but we hope to raise some more through our Mr. Relay who is Paul Sermersheim."

The Mr. Relay candidates get dressed up like queen candidates and collect donations in their purses. On stage, they have to be entertaining while answering questions.

"We're not on the committee this year," Parson said. "So we are all about our team and the costumes."

Going with this year's theme, "Teaming Up For A Cure," Parson's group has selected the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders team as their costume idea.

"You know we have a strange sense of humor when you see the body shapes of our team," Parson said.

Some of the teams will have campsites set up around the track and feature decorations and various ideas to raise more money for the cause during the event. The public is encouraged to come and check out both the serious and the humorous sides of the event.

Other activities will include a scavenger hunt for survivors and caregivers and a cook-off. This year's "secret" ingredient is peaches.

"So many lives have been touched by cancer, but the Relay is a wonderful time to celebrate survival and remember those who didn't make it," Wright said. "We'll have 28 teams this year, which is down from between 35 and 40, but we know they have all been working hard to raise money during the year."

In case of extreme inclement weather, the event will move to the David S. Palmer Arena.

Call Brad Tribble at the American Cancer Society at 356-9076 or visit the website at http://www.relayforlifevermilion.com for more information.